


Raudbang

by Anonymous



Series: Raudbang [1]
Category: arcane academy - Fandom
Genre: Gen, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-12
Updated: 2020-11-12
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:41:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,409
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27529390
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: I wrote this when I was tired and bored. My power went out so I had nothing else to do but write without wifi on a waning computer battery. This is my first AA fanfic and I took a long time to complete it out of laziness. Please be kind...
Relationships: Rauðskinna/Ruyi Jingu Bang
Series: Raudbang [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2012140
Kudos: 1
Collections: The Librarian's Secret Shelves





	Raudbang

**Author's Note:**

  * In response to a prompt by Anonymous in the [Arcane_Academy](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/Arcane_Academy) collection. 



> **Prompt:**
> 
> Write a story about our favorite staff and book pairing, Raud x Ruyi. Bonus points if you make Raud genderfluid and Ruyi nonbinary.

RauðskinnaBang Fic

Chapter 1

Ruyi was standing around at the counter of one of the worst coffee shops in all of Velika, known as Arcane Cafe. They were super tired because of the constant badgering of customers and their only relief was sneakily seeking asylum on twitter and other social medias. Of course, their boss, Athena, didn't like it when she found them on their phone but what she didn't know wouldn't hurt her. Athena was busy in her office anyway and Ruyi was the only one on their shift (read: no threat of being snitched on) so you can bet they were on their phone.

Usually they could hear the door open because of the bell signal but the twitter debate online was serving tea hotter than lava and the only thing that would stop them now was the disgruntled clearing of a throat and a pointed tap on the counter. Well, that's exactly what happened, and Ruyi threw their phone into their pocket and straightened with the most innocent, you-didn't-see-nothin' facial expression that they could muster. They fidgeted with their cafe uniform that Athena insisted that they wear, which for some reason looked a lot like a school uniform. Ruyi secretly suspected that Athena had some sort of school pupil fetish, but of course they had no evidence except the uniform, since Athena was ultimately very uptight and reticent. That didn't stop them from pointing fingers, though. A school uniform for a cafe was sus. They had their eyes on her... Back to the matter at hand, Ruyi gulped at the customer across the counter.

"I just want some coffee," The customer said with narrowed eyes, as if measuring their incompetence levels and deeming it through the roof. Haha, hot take, but Ruyi's coffee was 50% of the reason why Arcane Cafe was the worst cafe. Victims of their coffee would always return with a scowl, claiming the drink tasted like wood. Now, Ruyi swore on their best friend, Suoh's life that they had never put woodchips in coffee, but even they agreed that their coffee tasted weird.

So that's why Ruyi said, "Are you sure?" to this poor, misguided customer. Not only was the customer poor and misguided, he also looked super sharp, and unfairly handsome. Red eyes, geled-back silver hair, and an iron-pressed suit with the inverted colors of white for the lapels, suit jacket, trousers, and tie, and black for the undershirt, cuffs, and matching, flashy watch. Ruyi started to sweat just challenging the -poor-, misguided customer.

"Yes, now hurry up, I have an appointment in ten minutes and I need coffee, now," the customer said brusquely.

"Don't say I didn't warn you," Ruyi said after taking his order and beginning to make the coffee.

"You didn't warn me of anything," The customer said with an imperiously raised eyebrow.

"Oh-" Ruyi stumbled, almost tripping over the steps of making the coffee. "Riiight... welp, here goes... my coffee is TERRIBLE," they added emphasis in saying this by slamming the finished cup of coffee on the counter in front of him. No coffee was killed in the making of this dramatic movement. "Nobody can survive ONE SIP of the stuff." Ruyi made it clear that despite their apparently, horrid coffee-making skills, they knew their way around the cafe like a seasoned pro. Ruyi swiftly manned the cashier, carried out the transaction, and untucked a sharpie from behind their ear, spinning it around in their fingers for show. "Name?" he wielded the sharpie tip over the coffee cup surface, preparing for the hardest part of the job: getting the customers name right.

"I was unaware of that. I stopped by here because I'm far from my office and this meeting I'm heading to will likely drone on and on. I NEED this coffee, lowly employee. If it's as bad as you say, I'll make sure you're fired from the establishment," The man made threats like he was delivering a solemn promise, and by that I mean he said the words with care, like they were for your own good. Well they weren't. Ruyi really needed this job and they began to stiffen up nervously. "Rauðskinna, but I don't expect you to get that right either."

"Ummmm," was all Ruyi could manage. Rod-who-what-now? Oh they're screwed. They scrawled a measly 'Rod Skin' onto the cup, which in all honesty sounded a whole lot perverted, but it's not like they could help it. They've been in a lot of awkward situations since they've joined the workforce but THIS took the cake, no contest.

"Thank you," Rod Skin or whoever his name was then strode out the door in his shiny dress shoes, leaving the scent of domineering cologne in his wake.

As soon as he was out of sight, Ruyi breathed a heavy sigh of relief. There was no doubt that that coffee would be terrible and Ruyi's only hope was that the disgusting taste of his coffee would be overshadowed by a terrible business meeting, making the customer forget all about some small, unacceptable cup of coffee and the unfortunate creator of it. Ruyi chanced a glance at the time on their phone and realized that their coworker who was meant to relieve them was over an hour late. Just great. Athena would kill them if they left the front of the cafe unsupervised but they were really supposed to be off the clock thirty minutes ago. It seemed like there were so many pitfalls to getting fired today, and Ruyi was trapped. It was really starting to get to them and they felt their mood almost plummet into a depressive episode. "Please have a bad meeting, sir, I need this job. No, even better- I hope someone bumps into you on the way there and makes you spill the coffee all over yourself before you can even taste my bad coffee. HA, then you'll be mad at someone completely different!" Ruyi began to cackle explosively and then began fervently praying for misfortune to befall Rod Skin, leaning over the counter with their hands clasped together and eyes clenched tight and everything. "Please UNIVERSE, do me a solid just this once-"

"Owo?" The sound of Alex stepping into the cafe was blocked out by their ominous muttering. They quickly jumped up and tried to look normal. "HAHA, you look stupid."

\--

Days later, Ruyi was closing Arcane Cafe. There wasn't that many customers today, as usual, so there wasn't that much to clean up. Athena was busy counting the registers in her office and Ruyi was idly fretting about the possibility that they accidentally miscounted some cash at some point in the day and they were SO, SO going to get fired. On the outside of their ever constant, paranoia-induced panic, they looked completely calm sweeping the floors of the cafe and taking out the trash. The warm, orange-hued lights of the insulated cafe were offering a splendid contrast to the blue, rain-washed view of outside, framed by the large, wall-sized window panes. Ruyi was looking forward to their night-shift ending, especially since Suoh was picking them up in his vehicle afterwards, so there was the bonus of not having to sit through an hour-long bus commute home. Suoh and them had a party evening planned out with friends. 

They were so busy imagining all of the microwave-mania memories that would be shortly made that they didn't even see the washed up figure approach the doors and wrench them open. The bell clanged loudly just as a bolt of thunder rocked their eardrums, causing them to drop the broom with a clatter and back into a nearby table, resulting in more screeching sounds. "AH?" The sight of the customer did nothing to relax them. She looked DRENCHED, her silver hair was hanging limply in front of red-shining eyes. Her clothes were hanging off her shoulders and squelching the floor like slugs. Ruyi's eyes were wide open and scared. "M-m-miss, we're closed!"

The soaked lady took a dragging step forward with a snarl and Ruyi hurriedly picked up the fallen broom so they could brandish it like a shield-staff-thing. They didn't know what they were doing but they were scared, OKAY? They post-dazedly picked up on the fact that the lady was holding something in her hands. Oh, no, were they about to get robbed!? "RRRR, stop acting like an IMBECILE, and tell me HOW YOU MADE THIS!" The crazy lady held the cup up in her dripping hands and Ruyi gasped. On the cup were the words written in smeared sharpie, 'Rod Skin'. Th-that... THIS WAS THE GUY FROM BEFORE?

"oH, I'm so sorry, sir! I mistook you for a-"

"A woman?" Rod flipped his-or-her hair back away from those glaring red orbs, smoothing it to drape somewhat stylishly. "That's understandable, seeing as today is my she/her day. I'll overlook you assuming my gender, Ruyi-" Ruyi panickingly wondered how she knew their name, before realizing with a knee-jerk reaction that they had their namebadge on- "to quickly get to the point of this unplanned visit. Now tell me: how. did. you. make. this?" With each word, Rod took one squishy step forward, ending with her leering over them intimidatingly. It occurred to Ruyi that this behavior was unbefitting of the stylish, polished Rod they had met in the cafe a few days ago. She didn't seem like the type to do anything without extensive forethought. And yet here she was, without an umbrella on a rainy day. White seemed to be a key color in her fashion statements, seeing as she was wearing a majority of white once again. Problem was, white tended to be see-through once wet, and she was wearing a white b-blouse and p-pencil skirt!? They didn't know where to look, shaking eyes returning to her face where her dewy cheeks were red from adrenaline and anger.

"How did I make what?"

"THE COFFEE, NIMWIT!" Rod growled. "This was the best cup of coffee I've ever had in all my days. Not only that, but my business meeting went exceptionally well, almost TOO well. It was neither longwinded nor combative, my partners were efficient at making their points and even-handed in their judgement. DO YOU KNOW HOW IMPOSSIBLE THAT IS????"

"I'm guessing it's pretty impossible, because you're not acting like it," Ruyi's rare moment of boldness was not longlasting.

Rod paused, taking a step back, and briefly rubbing her polished fingertips over the shining surface of her bracelet. The fragrance of flowers was left in her wake. "You're right. Allow me to cut to the chase: I want to hire you to make my coffee from now on. You can leave this cafe, because it is completely beneath you. I will double- no, triple- your grossly income if you accept my proposal."

Ruyi's jaw dropped, leaving them unbecomingly gaping into the face of Ms Rod. "Uh, are you serious?"

"I'm always serious, Ruyi. Here's my business card containing all my details- including the proper spelling of my name, you oaf," Rod sighed with a grimace, as if personally slighted by the misspelling of her name. 

Ruyi shrugged because, that name was really unique and they had heard nothing like it before. They didn't consider it their fault that they spelled it wrong at first but they promised to do better next time? With that in mind, they shakily grabbed the card and read it.

Rauðskinna. Business Consultant, email: Rauðskinna@gmail.com phone: 666-666-2020 office: Derp Magicbook Dr, building 543

Ruyi looked up from the card. "Uh, thanks. I wasn't expecting this... do you mind if I tweet about this weird circumstance?"

Rod narrowed her eyes as if he disappointed her. "As long as you keep my identity out of it, which I expect you know to be common sense. Meet me at my office tomorrow at 6 AM sharp, where I will discuss the details of your hiring and all your subsequent responsibilities. If you have any questions call the number and my secretary will pick up. And you better keep your current job until you agree to this new position and use your discernment about whether this is the right job for you, I don't want you behaving recklessly on my account. Leaps of faith are stupid, understood?" She cast one last you-disappoint-me look over them and then left the cafe, heels click-clacking on the tile.

"What in the seven realms was THAT," Nikolai's voice snapped him out of his daze, coming from behind the counter. The blue-haired man was staring after Rauðskinna with a perplexed expression.

"Nicki Minaj, I have NO idea, but my ride is here so I gotta blast!" Ruyi shot fingerguns at him, grabbed their coat and umbrella and ran into the awaiting downpour where Suoh's car was bumping some underrated bops. Ruyi didn't even wait until after buckling in to say, "You will NOT believe what just happened!"

"You got arrested."

"NO."

"You microwaved a microwave, opening a portal into another dimension, got the rift blessing from Alexarchos, bested Zelgius, found Elara, and got married to Azdona,” Suoh winked.

"What!? No! Where are you even getting this from. Listen up, will ya?" Ruyi laughed and began telling him everything that happened on the drive to Suoh's place. Suoh looked like the type of man that got into alley fights and smuggled his way into airplanes due to the burst of color wrapped around his arm in the shape of a dragon tattoo and the fiery red eyes that made people take a double-take, but he was actually a very responsible person. He had good morals and was endlessly dependable.  _ Oh, but he did get into an alley fight and smuggle his way into an airplane once. _ Anyway, Suoh was the type of person who was on the right path and even if he faltered he did it for the right reasons. Ruyi was grateful to have him as a friend. They tried dating once but both of them agreed that they were better as friends and that's that.

"Hol up, someone actually liked your coffee? No offense, but their tastebuds must be wack." Suoh chuckled, good-humorously.

"That's what I'm saying!"

"Have you tweeted about it yet?"

"I was just about to!"

\--

So it goes without saying that Ruyi accepted the job of coffeemaker after Rauðskinna had determined that their coffee was indeed not a fluke and just as delicious as before. Ruyi watched in real-time as Rauðskinna took a sip of their infamous coffee and practically melted on the spot. What the fuck? They seriously did not do anything special to it... 

Ruyi learned that the job that had been practically handed to them was not easy. Sure, they had to make coffee three times a day, delivered at 6:30 AM sharp in the mornings before Rauðskinna's grueling day began, 12:00 PM sharp when Rauðskinna usually had a caffeine crash, and lastly at 3:00 PM, which the explaining secretary named Diana had said was 'just for good measure'. Yeah, Ruyi had no idea what THAT meant. Was the secretary trying to murder her boss with caffeine poisoning? Damn, Diana, that was diabolical... dianabolical... Anyway, yeah, so they had to serve COFFEE but that wasn't all. For the rest of the day, Ruyi would be doing office temp work, where they were expected to pay close attention to detail and meet their deadlines on time WITHOUT FAIL. Ha, Ruyi could do that... right?

But the numbers spoke for themselves and the paycheck was practically bribery. Heck, Ruyi felt like they landed themselves a sugar d- sugar m- how does this term translate to a gender fluid person again??? Ruyi shook themselves out of their musings, took their phone out, and dialed Athena's number. They waited for the dial tone and heard the as per usual speech, "This is Arcane Cafe, Athena speaking, how may I help you?"

Ruyi swallowed a gulp of air. "I'm quitting."

"Quit- Ruyi Jingu Bang, is that you?"

"Y-Yeap, That's me," Ruyi turned a little blue hearing their name said at length. They thought their last name was immature, especially paired with the accompanying middle name. It really didn't look good on resumes, which Rauðskinna had made exceedingly clear just by his facial expression alone when he perused their resume just that morning. "I got a new job so I can't keep working at Arcane Cafe. I'm sorry."

Athena sighed. "Ruyi, are you sure you can't reconsider? I'll even give you a raise. At least your coffee is semi-decent, but Nikolai's tastes like seafood and Alex always serves his with a surprise knife in the cup," Athena sounded like she was pinching the bridge of her nose, which was something she did when she was highly irritated.

"No, I'm sure about this Athena. Thank you for hiring me and keeping me on. Have a good day," even though Athena couldn't see them they were bowing their head in respect and then hung up. "Phew, glad that's out of the way..." Ruyi muttered. Their nerves were shot just from experiencing that brief dose of confrontation. They don't know how they're going to make it through the rest of the day…

A throat cleared across the hallway, Diana tapped her watch pointedly, indicating that it was almost coffee time. "You don't want to be late," she said in her sweet, cloying voice. "Trust me," she whispered as if sharing a secret. "No one does," she giggled and then turned around. "Follow me, I don't think you know your way around the building yet. Right?" She led him through the network of hallways. Ruyi clumsily followed after her, noting her professional attire, a red one-piece suit, dangling amethyst necklace, and a modernly cut purple bob. She looked put-together in a way that Ruyi couldn't even hope to replicate. They looked down at their wrinkled suit that seemed to be both too-tight and too-loose at the same time. They tried to adjust it to no avail, moving their gaze to their surroundings to spare their self-esteem. And wowie... the building was chic, modern, contemporary... whatever you want to call it. The furniture pieces were sleek, glass glittered in every direction like diamonds, the tile was polished to an insane degree. Ruyi gave up and looked at their feet like a mouse, winding up feeling like they didn't belong all over again.

Diana led them to the coffee station, waited for them to finish making the coffee while keeping up a modicum of small-talk, and then led them to Rauðskinna's office. "He's in the middle of a business meeting, so enter quietly." Diana said before walking away to whatever other duties she had.

Ruyi gulped, balancing the tray in their hands, looking down at their terrible tasting coffee. They waited a few seconds trying to talk themselves into entering before remembering that Diana had warned them that Rauðskinna didn't take kindly to tardiness. Ruyi pushed the imposing door open and sidled into the room.

They were greeted with a long table with serious faces on all sides. Across from Rauðskinna was a woman with brunette hair and angelic features. "Ms. Zephla, it is crucial to push your servers to 75%," Rauðskinna was saying confidently, hands folded on the table like he was hiding all his cards from view.

Ruyi shakily made their way to Rauðskinna's side of the table and set the coffee down on the cup coaster beside him. They calmed down a little now that their task was finished and began the arduous journey back out the door to safety-

"Ruyi, wait here," Rauðskinna interrupted their escape effort, before smoothly returning to the consultation-meeting-thing.

Ruyi died inside and waited as they were told, trying to blend into the wall. They hoped the meeting would be finished quickly, or else they would have to stand there FOREVER.

Luckily, the meeting did end after a few minutes more. Zephla shook hands with Rauðskinna and then strode out of the room with finesse, her entourage in a file behind her. Which meant Rauðskinna turned his attention completely them, and Ruyi felt the weight of that red hot stare. Rauðskinna today was dressed in a fitted suit, wearing a vest without the jacket, easily emphasizing his shoulder to waist ratio, which for all intents and purposes should be impossible. Ruyi watched as Rauðskinna took a sip of his coffee, uncaring if he was leaving them waiting for such a long time in dread and uncertainty. The cup was lowered and then the words, "You're fired" was imagined to be coming from his lips. Seriously, what if they were fired just like that!? They could've done anything in the short time since they were hired. Like, maybe they opened the door wrong or maybe they stepped on the wrong carpet thread. YOU NEVER KNOW. Panic and paranoia set in and Ruyi began pinching the skin of their forearm with their blunt nails.

The words that were spouted, however, completely left-hooked them. "Tell me a little about yourself."

"What?"

"You heard me," Rauðskinna patiently took another sip of his coffee. "You're unquestionably unqualified for the job. If it weren't for the unusual circumstances of your hiring, the likes of you would have never stepped a foot within these halls. You are a very... unique... individual. Your resume shows that you don't even have a high school diploma. The only credible information I have about you is on your twitter profile, that shows pictures of friends that look rather... uncouth. Why don't we start there?" Rauðskinna laid out the cards just like that.

"O-oh, you got me there," Ruyi smiled uneasily.

"Take a seat."

"R-right," Ruyi slid into the chair across from Rauðskinna and plastered their sweaty palms on the cool surface of the table. They didn't know how to begin. "I don't know how to begin."

"Begin," Rauðskinna glared.

"Okay, so I wasn't an edgy kid, okay? I'm not stupid, either. I was born in the jungle, in the middle of nowhere on an island. I studied in my early years there. I learned english and then left my home, my family, and my parents to come here. I didn't really have much of a plan, but I got a roommate and made ends meet. Now I'm here because of you, and that was your choice. You can put your trust in me, I'm not a gangster or anything. My friends are good guys, my best friend Suoh is in college to be an artist. You can't judge people by their appearance, because not everything is up to us. We can't all be completely in control like you." Ruyi slouched in their seat. They knew exactly what Rauðskinna was talking about. Right now, their friend group was made up of Suoh, Aribella, Adrian, Eli, and Camello. They all came from troubled pasts and they looked out for each other. Ruyi was repeatedly shocked by the soft hearts that beat inside rock-hard exteriors. That's why they remained humble. If it wasn't for them, they'd probably be on the streets.

Rauðskinna looked calculative, hands folded like before. "Oh, Ruyi, I understand more than you know what it's like to be out of control. That's why I amassed power, so that I can never be trapped in a situation like that again. I didn't have time to repeat the same mistakes like you did."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ruyi said impatiently. Like, seriously, get to the point.

"You have a lot to learn. Lucky for you, I like you, nepotism bedamned," Rauðskinna stood up and gathered his things, beginning his stroll to the door, cutting a sharp figure against the skyline outlined in the skyscraper glass. The man exuded power and grace wherever he went, it was disorienting.

"Y-You like me?" Ruyi hurriedly stood up, pushing back the chair clumsily, to follow after him.

"Did I stutter?"

"Well, no, I'm just surprised."

"So am I. You can return to your desk, I'm sure you have a lot of work to do." Were Rauðskinna's last words, before striding off like he owned the place. Oh wait. He did.

\--

A few months passed and Ruyi felt like they were FINALLY getting the hang of the job. It was weird, they were actually really good at it. Things were going well. Because of the pay raise they were able to save up to get a new place. They felt like they were finally pulling themselves together and all it took was a little more digits in their bank. Imagine that. Of course, EVERYTHING couldn't be peachy perfect. Ruyi's friends felt like they were distancing themselves from the group, now that they had a higher pay grade than everyone else. It resulted in some pretty serious clashes, one of which occurred last night, leaving Ruyi a sobbing, broken mess. These were the friends that had promised to stay by them through thick and thin. They were the friends that had been there with them at the last and first hour of every year. Ruyi didn't expect them to turn on them over this. Why couldn't they just be happy for them? The only one who seemed to believe and stand up for Ruyi was Suoh, but it was taxing even him having to play the role of mediator. Ruyi was tired, but they were a full-time worker so that didn't matter.

Besides that, Ruyi had gotten acquainted with their coworkers. They got to know Diana at first, but the list of names quickly grew to be Bonnie, Olivia, Remnant, Vish, and more. Ruyi looked up at the clock, seeing that the clock was near 6 AM. They blushed and headed over to the coffee station, beginning the calming process of making coffee. Over the past few months, without their permission, they had developed a really bad crush on their boss, Rauðskinna. It made things really awkward when they were trying to keep things professional and every look in Rauðskinna's direction caused a blushing spree.

Ruyi took the coffee up to Rauðskinna's office, knocking once on the door and slipping inside. Absentmindedly, they were wondering what pronouns Rauðskinna was using today. One could always tell by their outfits. Ruyi had discovered that there wasn't a pattern to Rauðskinna's fluidness, and that they were quite random. But one gender never lasted more than a week, so it seemed. As Ruyi entered the office, to their disappointment, they saw that Rauðskinna's desk was devoid of the heart-racing individual and so were its surroundings. Ruyi sighed and placed the cup of coffee on the desk, idly looking at the paperwork neatly spread on the darkwood surface. "That's so many numbers, it has to be morse code."

"Morse code is composed entirely of 1s and 0s," was how Rauðskinna chose to make their entrance.

Ruyi jolted and backed away, but unfortunately it turned out that Rauðskinna was right behind them. They yelped and then redirected themselves properly away this time. "I knew that. Just joking," Ruyi smiled cheesily and sadly, blushed a little.

Rauðskinna tapped her polished nails on the desk, wearing an elaborate dress. "The schedule for today is shoved for the sake of a business party. I'll be attending along with some of my staff. That includes you, Ruyi Jingu Bang."

Ruyi blushed.

"Unless you're sick, naturally."

"No, I'm not sick!" Ruyi hurriedly shook their head. "Okay, but what's this about a party? Nobody told me about it."

"Yes, I apologize for that. It just came to my awareness as well and I had no time to notify you. Most of my staff wears professional attire like a glove, but since you're at the bottom rung, I allowed you a bit of slack," She crossed her arms, frowning at their appearance. Ruyi was dressed in a comfortable sweater and threadbare trousers. "But that just won't do for this party."

"Oh, that's too bad. I don't have anything at home that even comes close to everyone else's wardrobe... I guess I'll just stay here."

"Unacceptable. You're required to come. You can wear something from my closet, I think we're close to the same size." Rauðskinna said unhesitatingly.

"WHAT? I can't wear your clothes!"

"Yes, you can. I just said you could. Come along now," She finished the last dredges of her coffee, leaving a trace of lipstick on the edge of the cup, and led him to the adjoining closet within her office, opening the door to the plethora of outfits awaiting inside.

Ruyi stuttered and followed, shocked by her unfazed countenance. All of that was quickly overshadowed by the closet brimming with enough material to swathe a celebrity. They walked inside, awed to a silence, turning around to look at it in full. "Wow... are you sure?"

Rauðskinna, surprisingly, laughed. It was rare for her to laugh. "Very. Pick out whatever you'd like. I don't know what you prefer."

Ruyi nodded, submitting to their fate, and pushed the clothes hangers aside. They decided on the first thing they thought would work and turned around to see Rauðskinna observing them. "What about this?"

Rauðskinna abandoned her post beside the door to come up to their shoulder, confidently taking the clotheshanger from their hands and holding it under their chin. Ruyi felt their chin get nudged up from the hook of the clotheshanger, forcing them to look straight ahead into the eyes of Rauðskinna. They blushed. "Hmm, the color goes well with your complexion. I wasn't sure before, but now... I see it," She pushed the clotheshanger back into Ruyi's hands and went out the door. "You can get dressed in here, fold your clothes and put them on the table. Don't leave me waiting." The door closed.

Ruyi gulped, doing as she said and then hastily leaving the closet.

What followed was an admittedly exciting ride in a limousine. Ruyi had never ridden a limousine before. They felt glamorous, especially since they were- wearing Rauðskinna's clothes!? The past events quickly caught up to them and they looked down at the outfit that Rauðskinna probably liked enough to put in her office closet. And now they were wearing it! Internally screaming aside, Ruyi looked out the window, absorbing the sights as they came closer and closer to the center of the metropolis. Rauðskinna was sitting with them, as well as Bonnibell, Dark, and Diana. Ruyi snuck glances at the graceful figure of Rauðskinna every chance they got, they thought it was a much more beautiful view than any city skyline.

They arrived at the venue, exiting the limousine and filing out. It didn't occur to Ruyi until now that the group of them looked imposing, intimidating, and luxurious altogether. And Ruyi somehow looked like they belonged here as well. A burst of confidence shot through them, and they somehow managed to walk forward without completely tripping over their feet.

Fast forward to the moment when that confidence predictably shattered a few minutes later, when they realized they had no idea why they were there. They nervously stepped beside Rauðskinna and whispered. "What are my responsibilities at the party?"

Rauðskinna paused. "Nothing. You can relax and enjoy yourself. My team and I will be networking over the course of the evening, but there will be food and entertainment to distract yourself with. All I ask is that you remain within sight. Don't wander far."

Ruyi blinked. "That's all? Nooo notetaking or anything? Then why did you say I'm required to come!"

"Because I wanted you to... and I noticed that you looked sad this morning. I couldn't stand that."

"Oh..." Ruyi blushed. She noticed that...? Ruyi tried to grasp this in its entirety, but their head kept circling around how she had noticed and paid attention to something so small. "Why?"

Rauðskinna's scarlet eyes rose up to their hair, unashamedly sweeping the bangs with their digits. "We didn't have time to do anything to your hair... but maybe that's for the best, It's fluffy. I like it..." Ruyi, at this point, was glitching under the praise. Overheating. 

Her eyes lowered to meet theirs. "I like you, even though you're unbelievably dense and unaccomplished, you're quite the nimcompoop, actually."

"I-Is this a love confession or a hate confession!?" Ruyi managed to eek out.

"Both. I don't like how much I like you." A close beeping noise sounded underneath them and Ruyi screeched. Rauðskinna chuckled. "So easily startled... that's all the time I have for you for now." She held up her digital watch and turned off the timer. WHEN DID SHE SET THAT? "Treat yourself to the entertainment. We can speak again when the night is over." Rauðskinna then smoothly walked away, her dress skirt fluttering in the air like it was weightless.

"YOU-" Ruyi lowered their voice, realizing there were crowds of people nearby. "did you really just  _ time _ your love-hate confession???" They wheezed. 

Ruyi understood that Rauðskinna was a very busy person, so they didn't fault them for the fact that they had no more time to speak with them tonight. As suggested, Ruyi chose to look around at everything the venue had to offer. They vibed to the band, danced, tried the food, laughed at the comedy act, and basically had a great night. This was far better than returning home to their lonely apartment where their friends were too stubborn to talk to them. At the end of the night, Rauðskinna swept up behind them while they were taking a quick break from romping around. They were sitting in an alcove with a treasurous sight of skyscrapers outlining the skyline. Lost in the view, they didn't see Rauðskinna until the last moment. "AH?"

"Relax, it's just me. The limousine is pulling up to the front and we're about to leave, so I thought I'd find you myself. But first, I wanted to ask, do you accept my confession?"

Ruyi pressed their hands into their cheeks. "I've had a crush on you for a long time. I'd be a fool to say no. It's just... you're my boss."

Rauðskinna sat down on the couch Ruyi was sitting on, sweeping her skirts to the side to enable mobility. "I know, but you needn't have to stay my employee forever. You have a brilliant mind, and it's a shame that you couldn't have a normal education. I want to change that. You deserve proper schooling so your opportunities can expand." Rauðskinna looked down at her clasped hands. "And then you can fly away from me if you wish to."

"I- okay this is going to sound really lame but- I'm never gonna let you down, never gonna run around and desert you!" Ruyi didn't even know why the most memed song in existence popped into their head right then, but they felt like a moment's hesitation would ruin everything.

An indignant expression flashed across Rauðskinna's face. "Did... did you just rick roll me!? At a time like this? You- you didn't even get the lyrics right!" She shoved their arm and then pulled on it, making Ruyi go back and then come closer. She hugged them.

So there you have it folks, your classic love story: get a job for making bad coffee, fall in love with your boss, lose all your friends but at least you have a significant other now, lose all your friends but at least you have a significant other now?

—

Ruyi and Rauðskinna were on their third date when they were asked the question, “can I meet your friends?”

“They’re not really friends anymore,” Ruyi admitted, stuffing their mouth with shrimp from the pasta set on the kitchen island in front of them.

“Why not?”

“We just…so when I started working for you, they thought I became stuck-up! Suoh is my only friend now, you can meet him.”

Rauðskinna frowned, remembering how close they all looked in the pictures, “that’s not right. And you don't even work for me anymore, you got a job at the college.”

“Yeah, well, I guess they don’t like seeing me doing good for myself,” Ruyi laughed without humor.

Rauðskinna set his fork down decisively. “Let me talk to them. You can’t let their... ridiculousness… ruin such a long lasting friendship.” 

Ruyi shook their head. “I’ll let you talk to them but enough about me.”

Rauðskinna nodded in acceptance. “So be it. I had something I wanted to tell you anyway.” Unbidden, thoughts of diamond rings filled Ruyi’s head. “About my… past.” They sighed in relief… or was it disappointment? 

“Don’t tell me you used to do ballet.”

“Nothing so exciting. Listen.” A pause of evident inner turmoil. “My family got its wealth from archeology. They would go to ancient burial sites and sell what they found for millions of dollars”

“Sounds ethically bankrupt.”

“It was. They were stealing from other cultures. While people were starving they profited off of something that wasn’t theirs in the first place. Old rich men thought they could buy heritage with their money, they thought it would cultivate them without showing any effort. For years I lived with this, I was expected to follow in my father’s footsteps and continue the robbery.”

“Did you?”

“For a time… one day I unburied a tome... it was an amazing tome with shocking discoveries on every page. It would’ve sold for billions of dollars, but the secrets locked within would undoubtedly be oppressed. Instead of allowing it to happen I ran away with it, changed my name, learned a new language, completely reconstructed myself. My family disowned me.”

“Wait, wait, wait, wait… Rauðskinna isn’t your real name!” Ruyi stood up and shouted in alarm. “And I think I know what tome you’re talking about, it was the tome that let scientists learn about the pyramids on the ocean floor, how they came to be, what civilization built them, and their connection to the pyramids of Giza.”

“Precisely,” Ruyi could tell Rauðskinna was pleased. “And now it’s in a museum where it belongs.”

Ruyi slowly sank back down into their seat. “You should be famous for the discovery. They should be saying your name- what is your real name by the way?”

“You thought you were dating Rauðskinna, but it was me, Dio!”

—

and they lived happily ever after (after Ruyi befriended their friends again)(im too lazy to write anymore hellllpppp)(maybe I’ll do a second chapter ok im sorry)

  
  
  



End file.
